Canadian fabricator advances with CNC technology

Currently housing a
fabrication shop and showroom under a 6,000-square foot facility, Dauter Stone
Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, Canada,
plans to expand its production area and equipment line. Owning multiple CNC
machines from CMS North America of Caledonia, MI, the company will likely
purchase a third in the near future.

Beginning as a tile
business, Dauter Stone Inc. of Calgary,
Alberta, Canada,
is now a successful stone fabrication facility - specializing in residential
countertops as well as commercial cladding. The evolution into stone
fabrication has called for investing in the latest in technology, including two
CNC machines from CMS North America of Caledonia, MI, and it now garners room
for more production space and a possible third CNC.

A CMS Brembana Falcon
CNC saw center was the company’s most recent investment.

“There are three
owners -Wolfgang, Manfred and Ulrich Dauter,” said Shop Manager Brian
Leschyshyn. “They started out in the tile business. Then they started doing
commercial work and got into granite. It then progressed to kitchen countertops
as well as commercial work.”

The 6,000-square-foot
facility is equipped with a CMS Brembana Falcon CNC saw, which was the
company’s most recent investment. “That has vacuum manipulator arms that come
down and move pieces out of the way,” said Leschyshyn. “That saves a lot of
time.”

Purchasing the
Falcon, which uses the Konig Plus blade from GranQuartz of Tucker, GA, has
increased Dauter Stone Inc.’s production, according to Leschyshyn. “It’s
increased the cutting capacity quite a bit,” he said.

Additionally, the
shop is equipped with a CMS Brembana Maxima CNC stoneworking center that
utilizes tooling from ADI, which is distributed by GranQuartz, a T108 manual
workcenter from Thibaut of France, which features radial arms running along its
track and a Fickert+Winterling saw that can accommodate blades as large as 2
meters in diameter.

Purchasing the Falcon, which uses a Konig Plus blade
from GranQuartz of Tucker, GA, has increased Dauter Stone Inc.’s production,
according to Shop Manager Brian Leschyshyn. “It’s increased the cutting
capacity quite a bit,” he said.

Templating in the
shop is completed with an LT-55 Laser Templator from Laser Products of
Romeoville, IL, and Global StonePro software helps the company maintain its job
tracking.
In the past five
years, Leschyshyn explained that obtaining the CNC stoneworking center and
going to digital templating have been the shop’s biggest advancements. “When we
first got the Maxima, that basically increased our production in the manner of
what the CNC is capable of doing [compared to what] a human can do,” he said. “That
was the first step. And then with the last investment of the Falcon, and of
course the templating - that all increases our ability as a fabricator.”

Expecting to expand
its production, Dauter Stone Inc. is currently constructing a 6,000-square-foot
addition to its facility, where it has plans to add another CNC stoneworking
center. “Of course, we want to expand the business on both sides - kitchen and
commercial,” said Leschyshyn. “Our current 6,000-square-foot building houses
the showroom and production facility. We have under construction another
6,000-square-foot facility that will be the new showroom and slab warehouse.
Once that has been completed, the old building will be converted to all
production, and we will be adding another CNC workcenter.”

The shop also
operates a CMS Brembana Maxima CNC stoneworking center, which utilizes tooling
from ADI, which is distributed by GranQuartz.

The shop currently
produces an average of four kitchens a day under one shift in addition to
commercial work, and employees are divided into departments - with 15 in the
kitchen department and around 25 in the commercial department. “Quite a few
workers can do every aspect,” said Leschyshyn. “And then quite a few can only
do polishing, installing, etc.”

Leschyshyn further
explained that the staff is usually hired without experience, and then Dauter
Stone Inc. puts them through its own in-house training program. “Up here in Canada, there’s
not much in the way of training programs to send them to,” he said.

The shop’s most
recent work involves some commercial and institutional projects. “We’re just
finishing up the Centennial Towers in downtown [Calgary],” said Leschyshyn. “We did the
cladding and granite flooring, stairs, etc.

“About 95% of our
countertop business is done in and around Calgary,
and 5% of the business is in places like Canmore, Banff
and the interior of British Columbia,
such as Invermere,” he continued.
And
although the company works with natural stone approximately 90% of the time,
the other 10% features work that utilizes engineered stone such as CaesarStone
quartz surfacing and Quantra quartz surfacing from Pokarna Ltd. of India.

A T108 manual
workcenter from Thibaut of France is used for surface finishing.

Sidebar: Dauter Stone Inc.

Calgary, Alberta,
Canada

Type of work:
residential countertops and commercial cladding

Machinery/equipment:
a Brembana Falcon CNC saw and a Brembana Maxima CNC stoneworking center - both
from CMS North America of Caledonia, MI; a T108 manual workcenter from Thibaut
of Vire, France; a Fickert+Winterling saw from Germany; tooling from ADI, which
is distributed by GranQuartz of Atlanta, GA; blades from GranQuartz; an LT-55
Laser Templator from Laser Products of Romeoville, IL; Global StonePro software
for job tracking

Number of employees:
15 in the kitchen department, around 25 in the commercial department

Production capacity:
four kitchens a day, plus commercial and institutional work

The shop currently
produces an average of four kitchens a day under one shift plus commercial
work, and employees are divided into departments - with 15 in the kitchen
department and around 25 in the commercial department. “Quite a few workers can
do every aspect,” said Leschyshyn. “And then quite a few can only do polishing,
installing, etc.”

Additional Photos

Templating is done
using an LT-55 Laser Templator from Laser Products of Romeoville, IL, (an
example of which is pictured). Digital templating along with CNC technology are
all factors in what has helped Dauter Stone Inc. advance in the last five
years, according to Leschyshyn.

In the December 2016 issue, we look at some highlights of the Marmo+Mac 2016, and the new renovations of the Freemasons' Hall in London, England. We also present some new products, technology updates, machine of the month, and stone of the month.

For this issue, we are excited to share with you four features that focus on using compact and ultrathin slabs in both residential and commercial projects. As these products continue to gain popularity, we wanted to share different ideas of applications, including an upscale dining environment in the interior of a Saks Fifth Avenue.